Discover DIACOMET’s main outputs and resources in one place
Over three years, DIACOMET developed a set of research-based concepts, practical tools and resources designed to strengthen ethical public communication, civic accountability and democratic resilience. Together, these outputs translate the project’s research on dialogic communication ethics into resources that can be used by citizens, journalists, communication professionals, educators, civil society organisations, policymakers and public institutions.
Discussion Forum
The DIACOMET Discussion Forum provides a dedicated online space for discussing ethical dilemmas in public communication. Designed for NGOs, educators and civil society actors, the platform supports structured and respectful dialogue and enables users to post dilemmas, comment, respond to others and participate in moderated discussions. Multilingual access and a combination of automated and human moderation help make the forum an inclusive and accountable environment for exploring different perspectives.
Rather than simply offering another discussion platform, the forum creates a space specifically built around the principles of dialogic communication. It can also serve as an educational resource for analysing real-world communication dilemmas and developing reflective communication practices.
We invite you to access the forum on this link and find out more about its development here.
Policy Recommendations on Civic Accountability Mechanisms
The Policy Recommendations on Civic Accountability Mechanisms translate DIACOMET’s extensive research into concrete recommendations for policymakers, regulators, media organisations, digital platforms, civil society and educators.
Based on comparative research across eight European countries, the recommendations address major challenges affecting democratic public communication, including platformisation, political polarisation, the economic fragility of journalism, opaque algorithmic systems and barriers to meaningful participation. They identify five key directions for action: strengthening civic resilience and communication security, improving transparency, expanding inclusive participation, ensuring access to public dialogue for marginalised and low-visibility groups, and fostering constructive engagement between media professionals and the public.
The recommendations cover both EU and national levels and connect regulatory approaches with practical DIACOMET tools that can support more inclusive, participatory and accountable communication.
We invite you to read our policy recommendations on this link.
Dialogue Lab: The Game of Dialogic Communication Ethics
The educational game Dialogue Lab brings dialogic communication ethics into everyday situations. Through narrative-based ethical dilemmas, players are encouraged to recognise ethical choices, reflect on their own communication practices and consider the needs and perspectives of others.
Dialogue Lab is available both as an individual self-learning experience and as a group-based board game. The group format encourages participants to explain and discuss their choices, listen to alternative viewpoints and identify aspects of a situation that they may initially have overlooked.
The game was designed for a broad range of users, including journalists and communication professionals, employees and organisations, university staff and students, and school communities. By transforming ethical reflection into an interactive learning experience, Dialogue Lab helps develop moral reasoning, listening and communication skills.
We invite you to try out our game on this link, read the guidebook in English and all consortium languages and find out more about its development on this link.
Principles for Dialogue-Supportive Communication
The Principles for Dialogue-Supportive Communication provide a practical framework for putting dialogic communication ethics into practice.
Developed on the basis of theoretical research, DIACOMET focus groups and a systematic analysis of existing ethical codes and guidelines, the principles address communication beyond traditional professional ethics. They can be applied to interpersonal, organisational, public and digitally mediated communication.
The framework is organised around six key domains: equality, freedom and safety; individual autonomy and informational self-determination; quality of information and deliberation; ethical conduct in situations of confrontation and disagreement; active listening and inclusion; and constructive feedback.
Rather than prescribing rigid rules, the principles offer adaptable guidance for creating communication environments based on respect, inclusion, evidence-based argumentation and more balanced power relations.
We invite you to access our principles on this link.
Concepts of DCE and Accountability
The Concepts of Dialogic Communication Ethics and Accountability provide the theoretical foundation connecting DIACOMET’s different research and practical outputs.
DIACOMET developed dialogic communication ethics, or DCE, as an applied normative approach that helps people recognise ethically significant communication situations, consider different perspectives, make responsible choices and remain respectful even when agreement is not possible. The concept brings together theoretical foundations, accountability mechanisms and tools for developing dialogic communication competences.
At its core, DCE emphasises values such as mutual respect, equality, listening and engagement. It also pays particular attention to agency, vulnerability and unequal power relations, recognising that responsibility in communication must take into account who has the capacity to act, who may be vulnerable and who is able to influence existing structures.
The concept therefore provides a common foundation for understanding how communication ethics, civic accountability and democratic resilience can work together.
We invite you to read more about our concepts on this link.
Inclusive Accountability Toolbox
The Inclusive Accountability Toolbox presents nine concepts for new forms of civic accountability in public communication.
Its development was informed by a two-phase Delphi study involving experts across eight countries and the EU level, as well as interdisciplinary Design Thinking sessions. The research identified several shared challenges, including declining respectful dialogue, insufficient transparency, the growing influence of digital platforms and AI, weak connections between citizens and institutions, and inadequate media and digital literacy.
The toolbox approaches accountability as a shared and reciprocal responsibility rather than a one-way process in which institutions are simply held to account by others. Its four main pillars are inclusion, proximity, reciprocity and adaptability.
The nine concepts developed through the project range from deliberative forums and community-based media initiatives to educational tools, structured listening methods and participatory online platforms. Together, they demonstrate different ways of creating accountability mechanisms that respond more closely to citizens’ lived experiences.
We invite you to access our toolbox on this link.
DIACOMET Database
The DIACOMET Database makes a large collection of ethical codes and guidelines for public communication openly accessible in one place.
Containing more than 400 documents from Austria, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Switzerland, as well as international organisations, it brings together codes and guidelines covering journalism, advertising, public relations, corporate communication, public institutions, media users and other areas of public communication.
Users can explore the collection through predefined filters, an interactive country map and full-text search across original-language documents and automated English translations. Each database entry also provides contextual information about the document, including its origin, year, type, accountability framework and relevance to issues such as diversity and artificial intelligence.
The database supports researchers, professionals and organisations wishing to compare existing approaches to ethical communication, review their own guidelines or develop new ones. It also provides an important evidence base for DIACOMET’s broader work on dialogic communication ethics and accountability.
Together, these seven outputs demonstrate how DIACOMET moved from research to practical application. From theoretical concepts and policy recommendations to educational tools, participatory spaces and openly accessible resources, they provide different entry points for strengthening ethical, inclusive and accountable communication — and for supporting a more resilient democratic public sphere.
We invite you to browse through our database on this link.
DIACOMET NGO Network
DIACOMET established an international network of non-profit and civil society organisations working in areas such as communication ethics, media accountability, media literacy, education and civic participation. The network connected organisations across Europe to exchange knowledge and good practices, contribute to the development and testing of DIACOMET tools and approaches, and strengthen dialogue, civic accountability and resilience in public communication.
Through the network, participating organisations contributed to activities including the development of the Dialogue Lab, the Inclusive Accountability Toolbox and the Principles for Dialogue-Supportive Communication, while supporting broader engagement with civil society and underrepresented groups.
Find out more about our network on this link.